Made To Be Weapons
by Revlid
Summary: It's an age-old question; where do zanpaktou spirits come from? The truth is stranger than many would believe, as Soul Society is an afterlife for more worlds than ours alone. Series of one-shots.
1. A Different Wheel

**Made To Be Weapons**

Sword-lore is an exotic art even in the land of the living, but when one has passed into the next life, it becomes even more esoteric, for in that uncanny and strictly-policed land, true swords have strange powers. True swords have strange names. True swords have _souls_.

Of course, all souls have to come from somewhere, and the source of a zanpaktou's empowering soul is a question much-debated in the musty scholar's halls of Soul Society. The prevailing theory of the day is that a zanpaktou is part of the user from birth to death, and it awakens within the prospective Shinigami as they pour part of themselves into the blank slate of their weapon. The zanpaktou spirit is not an entirely separate entity, the theory states, but rather a budding off from the wielder's own soul, taking a new form to aid them in combat.

This theory is neat, concise, and explains many of the idiosyncrasies of zanpaktou. It is also totally wrong in almost every respect.

Zanpaktou spirits are souls, but not of this world. They come from somewhere else, from a wheel of reincarnation quite removed from our own. They live, fight and die in their world, and are borne into Soul Society, altered and reforged by the space between worlds into weapons, to be wielded by the protectors of the afterlife itself.

There are many from that other world who would be quite pleased by this fate. Shinobi are made to be weapons, after all.

**Just a silly idea I had a while back and finally decided to put down. There'll be a short per chapter, and each one will likely be rather shorter than this. I'll upload them as I write them.**

**-Revlid**


	2. Houzukimaru

**Houzukimaru**

In the weird, semi-conscious world of his afterlife, Shikamaru lazed, watching the clouds of this small world drift by. In them he saw shapes – sprays of blood shifted to twin feathers shifted to a notched sword shifted to a comb. For the most part, his wielder had a one-track mind, and that showed in his clouds. But clouds were clouds, and to the nebulous remains of Shikamaru's consciousness, that was enough for eternity.

Ikkaku got along well enough with his zanpaktou spirit. They were both lazy, in their own way. Houzukimaru in an obvious, sluggish manner, quick to sleep and slow to rise, while Ikkaku transcended sloth and reached hard work on the other side – it would have been troublesome to be pushed around, so he fought and intimidated until no-one in Rukongai dared. When he became a Shinigami, it would have been troublesome to take orders, so he got strong enough that the only people left ranked above him were the ones who wouldn't bother. So Ikkaku didn't mind if his zanpaktou took a little while to stop cloud-watching and lend him its strength – it only made the fight more interesting, in the long run.


	3. Senbonzakura

**Senbonzakura**

What is left of Sakura no longer fully thinks of itself as Sakura – too much time had passed, and she has been reforged by the space between universes. However, she still retains some old habits and tastes that flow into the self she has become, the spirit of a noble's weapon. The nature of Senbonzakura, if nothing else, reflects this.

Byakuya Kuchiki reached the visualisation stage of his zanpaktou training incredibly quickly, even for a prodigy. His well-hidden pride over this achievement would likely dim somewhat if he knew the true cause – that Sakura never lost her taste for black-haired bishounen nobles.

For his part, the stoic Captain seldom questions the idiosyncrasies of his blade's spirit. A companion willing to lend him the kind of elegant power that Senbonzakura possesses is, to Byakuya's mind, entitled to their quirks. Although he does wish he knew why his zanpaktou shouts "Shannaro!" whenever it sees he and the Kurosaki brat together. And what on earth "Guy-On-Guy no Jutsu" was.

On second thought, ignorance is bliss.


	4. Hisagomaru

**Hisagomaru**

Hanatarou Yamada is a gentle soul, which made the form his zanpaktou took upon release unsurprising to those of his instructors versed in the deeper mysteries of sword-lore. Had they waited long enough to see his sword's secondary ability before waving him on to 4th Division, they would have been puzzled. A bipolar zanpaktou is a rarity, and might have warranted a stint in the 11th, to see if there was some hidden part of his psyche that this destructive ability reflected.

Hanatarou is rather glad he didn't have to go through that.

His zanpaktou spirit, however, a busty woman with blonde pigtails and a diamond-marked forehead, who is intoxicated and violent far too often for the nervous shinigami's liking, is not. She recognises that the 11th Division has rather more fun, and is certain (though she couldn't say how) that she's done enough hospital work to last a literal lifetime.

Despite this split in their tastes, Tsunade is obscurely fond of the attentive, caring young man who became her wielder. He reminds her of a distant memory, a fellow healer whose face was lost in her reforging. Like the Captain of the 4th, she looks upon Hanatarou as a mother does her bumbling-but-good-hearted son. She's sure he takes after her. After all, she'd been a ruler in her life, hadn't she? His election to Captain-Commander Yamada almost a century after the Winter War was only to be expected.


	5. Nameless

**Nameless**

Not all sword-spirits were so well-matched with their wielders. After enduring the cold between worlds and the hammering of his soul into polished steel, Kakuzu was even more sour than usual, his 'usual' being barely a step below murderous rage. A forced partnership with yet another battle-mad, unkillable moron with stupid hair was just horrible, horrible icing on a cake baked in Karma's oven.

Zaraki Kenpachi had long tuned out his sword's screams. It wasn't pain, as some thought, but rather centuries of built-up frustration being let off like steam from a kettle.


	6. Suzumebachi

**Suzumebachi**

In all things, Soi Fon is a professional. She follows orders to the letter, avoids displaying any more emotion than is necessary, and completes her work in a timely fashion. Luxuries are left by the wayside, free time is an alien concept, and fraternisation is an alien concept wielding spiked probes and a death ray.

Except in one specific case. That of her master, the elegant and wonderful Lady Yoruichi. Soi Fon did not think the world of her former master – she had _been_ her world, and her departure had left her so empty that duty had been the only respite she could find, the only way to fill her time and the (thankfully metaphorical) hole in her chest.

The Sword-That-Was-Anko sympathises with her wielder on a deeper level than either of them know, for reasons the spirit can no longer remember. She took a different path in dealing with the pain of abandonment, and wishes Soi might have done the same – she's sure she'd look good in exhibitionist gear.


	7. Sogyo no Katawari

**Sogyo no Katawari**

Despite his illness, despite the war, despite his responsibilities, and despite having two Third Seats so irritating that most of the other Captains would have killed them out of hand by now, Ukitake is content. He has a division that loves him (even if some of the higher ranked ones are a tad clingy about it), friends that he trusts with his life (even if he's failed some of them in that regard), and a very promising replacement rising through the ranks (even if he'd rather not have Kuchiki's bunny as the division symbol – the snowdrop is far more appropriate). And through it all, he has his zanpaktou, two companions who have been with him through sickness and health, who he can count on until his last breath.

Zabuza doesn't remember his last moments on the bridge, or much else. All he has is his wielder, and his fellow spirit – one he knows he is bound to forever. And, perhaps, a memory of a white place, of falling snow and the uncannily beautiful boy who pledged his life to another's service. This loss doesn't bother him as much as it might once have done. He has his companion, and that is enough.

Haku, on the other hand, remembers just about everything. He's glad that Kakashi was right.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far! It's fun to put these out when I've got writer's block from writing Exalted Charms, and I've decided on the next few zanpaktou-ninja matchups._


	8. Ruri'iro Kujaku

**Ruri'iro Kujaku**

Every morning, when Yumichika rises, he gently brushes his hair one hundred times on the right hand side and one hundred times on the left. He then applies whichever four varieties of hair-product (some smuggled back from the mortal world) he has decided on for that day, and begins the process of brushing a second time, before finally combing the finished product into perfection.

Ikkaku is his closest living friend, and he's seen him break this routine/obsession exactly once, when they were stationed at an outpost. A Hollow had attacked early, taking the outer guards by surprise, and not only broke Yumichika's mirror but caused his hair to become tangled in the comb. The effete Shinigami took his sweet time taking the Hollow down, and used the comb in question to do so, giving Ikkaku horrible, bloodspattered memories that he's certain would have put him off hair-grooming for life if he weren't already taken care of in that department.

Ino was never all that invested in her clan's techniques. Still, it's no coincidence that, with access to the Yamankana mental abilities, she's the one who came through the forge between worlds most intact. She's retained her love of flowers (even if her stupid wielder refuses to show them off most of the time – honestly, _men_) and she's ended up with a well-groomed prettyboy (even if he is even camper than Sai and only slightly less psychopathic) so she's really got very little to complain about. She just wishes her wielder would take a little more care in his appearance. She wasn't voted Beautiful Kunoichi #1 for eight years on talent alone, after all.

...

And if he calls her "Fuji" one more time, she may gut him in his sleep.


End file.
